Kids wait all year long for summer break, but as June makes way for July, most tend to grow a little restless. Luckily, for Little Rock moms and dads, a fun and enriching solution is right next to the Arkansas River.

Sculpture at the River Market offers tours and activities in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden for children in third grade and older. The docents take the kids on scavenger hunts that encourage them to explore the different sculptures, and after they find all the works of art on their list, they can engage in friendly competition by building sculptures of their own with art supplies.

Nancy Puddephat is one of the four volunteer docents who lead these tours.

"I love to go down there and see families with kids," Puddephat said. "It’s art you can touch."

The docents don’t regularly schedule their tours, so if you’d like to take your children and their friends through the park, visit the Sculpture at the River Market website and send a message to discuss date, time and number of people. There is no cost.

"In a way, each tour is customized," Puddephat said.

Puddephat and the other three docents want to make the tour an educational experience for the children. They discuss the artists, the bronzing process and artistic terms, but they also talk about the subjectivity of art and art’s relationship with the community.

"Art is subjective," Puddephat said. "I’ll tell kids, at school, 'If you put on your paper that two plus two is five, your teacher’s going to mark it wrong every time … When you look at art, it’s not that way. Everyone looks at art from their own personal feelings to it. There’s no right or wrong.'"

Trees shade a good portion of the walk, and kids can also enjoy playing at the River Market splash pad during the summer. 

For more infomation on the Sculpture Garden, visit the Facebook page or the Sculpture at the River Market website.